“The Last Straw” - After Shell’s Latest Failure, Sierra Club Calls for Drilling
Permits to Be Immediately Revoked

(Kodiak Island, AK) – On Monday, Royal Dutch
Shell Oil drilling ship Kulluk ran
aground near Kodiak Island, Alaska – the latest in a long list of failures by Shell
in the company’s much-hyped but continuously failed attempt to drill in the
Arctic.

Sierra Club Executive
Director Michael Brune released the following statement in response:

“In just one year, Shell has proven over and over again that they are
completely incapable of safely drilling in the Arctic. Their ships have caught fire and lost control, they’ve damaged their own spill containment
equipment, and they’ve been caught entirely unprepared for the challenges of
the Arctic. Now, they’ve actually run a ship carrying tens of thousands of
gallons of oil aground in Alaska.

This is the last straw. We should judge Shell not by their assurances
or their PR tactics, but by their record – and Shell’s record clearly
demonstrates that letting them operate in the Arctic is an invitation for
disaster.

America’s Arctic – whether offshore or in the
Arctic Refuge – is the last place we should be drilling for oil and gas. If we
are serious about fighting climate disruption and protecting our wild places, the President should
immediately cancel Shell’s drilling permits before it is too late, and ensure
the Arctic is off-limits for new oil and gas leasing and drilling this year and
every year.”